They said it couldn’t be done, but as usual, they were wrong. Ruben Steeman – aka RuSt – had been producing one drawing a day for seven years on his website, and when he reached number 2,500 he felt the milestone should be celebrated. Time, the Dutchman thought, for a book. The trouble was, none of the mainstream publishers would touch it, principally because there are no machines in general use capable of binding such a tome.
Undeterred, Ruben decided the only way to get his book out there would be to bankroll the venture himself – or at least raise the money through a crowdfunding appeal. The internet came through with the dosh, and an intrepid bookbinder took on the challenge of putting the enormous volume together. Ruben wanted 1:1 reproductions of his original artwork, meaning the finished product is as thick as it is wide. The paper is laser cut and the book hand-bound, with each weighing in at a whopping 3.5kg. 2500 Days of RuSt is available from the artist’s webshop for €100, and you certainly get your money’s worth. As well as the hefty dimensions, there’s the small matter of the 2,500 drawings inside; at 10 seconds each, that’s seven hours of reading to get through the whole lot. Ruben is continuing his daily drawing project, although it will presumably be some time until Volume II threatens the shelves…
